Phase II of Visual Impact Muscle Building

So after stating a week ago that I would stick with Phase I of Visual Impact Muscle Building for a while longer; I immediately moved on to Phase II. I did it not so much because I wanted to move on to the “strength and density” phase, but rather because I don’t like doing the same routine for more than 3 months or so.

I thought Phase I was interesting enough to continue but as I gave it more thought – well – why not give my body a change of pace.

My thoughts after a few workouts:

1. Less intense than Phase I – Fewer exercises, fewer overall sets, and fewer reps translate to less intensity. During the last phase, particularly in the secondary exercises; I was racing the pump. 5 pyramid sets followed by 8 sets of max (around 12) reps. With 30 to 45 seconds of rest between sets, I was gunning for total muscle exhaustion and that sweet, sweet pump. Not so much with this routine.

It’s a 5X5 workout, but Rusty’s twist on it is to always leave one rep in the tank. So, for the 1st set pick a weight that you can do 8 reps and do only 5. Rest 1 minute and do another 5. By the 5th set, if you can do 4 good reps but not sure about the 5th rep, stop.

When you can do a good, solid 5 reps on the 5th set, then increase the weight.

2. My resistance bands don’t work seem to work as well. My Bodylastics bands were perfect for Phase I. But for phase II, adjusting the bands to where I am doing only 5 reps is not so easy. In general, the start is easy, but contracted point is too hard.

I am going to go with a lighter resistance bands but do the reps much slower. Also, I going to get the 30lb rated orange bands that Bodylastics is clearance at $19.95 (that’s 2 bands). If you’re using Bodylastics like me – go back to their website and get these.

3. Back to the first point, will do not break a sweat like I did during Phase I, but Rusty also clearly states that and recommends intensifying the HIIT sessions to compense – which I am.

So, I will continue Phase II and let you know how it all fans out in the next couple of months. May even post a picture or two.

Like this:

Looking for something?

Connect with us online

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive email updates and to hear what's going on with Smart Weight Gain!

A Little About Me

Hello, and welcome to our little website. First off, I’d like to introduce the various folks that contribute to this website, to include, webmaster, editor, publisher, graphics designer, site reviewer, product reviewer, and marketing guru, on site analyst, janitor, executive assistant (coffee getter), proofreader... Read More…